Poison Use (Ex)

Drow are skilled in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves. Drow favor an insidious toxin that causes its victims to lapse into unconsciousness—this poison allows drow to capture slaves with great ease.

Although related to the elves, the drow are a vile and evil cousin at best. Sometimes called dark elves, these cunning creatures prowl the caves and tunnels of the world below, ruling vast subterranean cities through fear and might. Worshiping demons and enslaving most races they encounter, the drow are among the underworld’s most feared and hated denizens.

Drow are shorter and a bit more slender than their surface-dwelling kin, but they are otherwise physically similar. Drow have dark skin, ranging from black to a hazy purple hue. Most drow have white or silver hair and white or red eyes, but other colors are not unheard of.

Drow society is ruled over by powerful nobility, themselves governed by sadistic and dangerous matriarchs who constantly plot and scheme against rival houses and lesser kin within their own families. The majority of drow are the common soldiers and decadent citizenry, with base stats as presented here—drow nobles are more powerful and dangerous, and are detailed below.

In combat, drow are thoroughly ruthless, with little regard for fairness or mercy. They prefer to attack from ambush or to lure enemies into situations where they clearly have the upper hand. If things turn against them, drow are quick to flee, leaving slaves and minions to cover their escape.

Drow Nobility

About one out of every 20 drow is gifted with special powers from birth—the overwhelming majority of these exceptional drow are female, and as a result, drow society tends to be matriarchal in nature. These special births are engineered and encouraged among the ruling caste, and are far more likely to occur when the mother is of noble heritage. Strangely, the status of the father seems not to increase or decrease the chances of a child being born a drow noble. Common drow children born to nobles are usually put to death—sacrificed to one of the many demon gods to whom the drow offer worship. It is rare for a drow noble to be born to common parents, but those who are usually murder their parents or family before they come of age in order to hide the truth of their base upbringing and to ease the processes of joining one of their society’s noble houses. Drow nobles are more powerful than the majority of their kin, and as such they quickly rise to power within their houses. Advancement through the hierarchy of a drow noble house is usually accomplished through a combination of assassination, seduction, and treachery, leading most drow in power to be overly paranoid.

Drow Characters

Drow are defined by their class levels—they do not possess racial Hit Dice. All drow have the following racial traits.

Ability Scores: Drow are nimble and manipulative (+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, –2 Constitution)Size: Drow are Medium-sized creatures and so have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.Speed: Drow have a base speed of 30 feet.

Senses

Drow have the following special senses:

Darkvision: Darkvision 120 ft. Drow can see in the dark up to 120 feet.

Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds drow for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.

Poison Use: Drow are skilled in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves. Drow favor an insidious toxin that causes its victims to lapse into unconsciousness—this poison allows drow to capture slaves with great ease.

Weapon Familiarity: Drow are proficient with the hand crossbow, rapier, and short sword.